Q & A

Is Resident Association’s Fundraising for Resident Activities Permitted?

December 13, 2019

Q Our site has a “mini-mart”: A resident association buys snack foods at a retail warehouse club and resells them in...

Owner May Be Liable for Resident-on-Resident Racial Harassment

December 13, 2019

Facts: A few months after a resident moved into his apartment, his next-door neighbor began a relentless campaign of racial harassment, abuse, and threats. From the start of his neighbor’s several-month campaign of harassment, the resident, “fear[ing] for his...

Insurer Must Defend Site Owner Against Fire-Related Lawsuit

November 22, 2019

Facts: Before a resident moved into her unit, a new smoke detector with a new battery was installed. The unit was also inspected by a local PHA inspector who found that the unit had the correct number of smoke detectors and that the smoke detectors were working properly. Shortly...

Owner Must Disclose Documents to Occupant Claiming Succession Rights

November 22, 2019

Facts: After the death of a Section 8 resident, an owner sought to evict a person living in the unit. The occupant claimed succession rights and tried to prove that he lived with the tenant for more than a year before she died from cancer, and that they were involved in an...

HUD Posts FAQs about Increased Rent Payments for RAD Projects in Opportunity Zones

November 22, 2019

Congress created the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) in fiscal year 2012 to test whether public housing agencies (PHAs) could leverage Section 8 rental assistance contracts to raise private debt and equity to make public housing capital improvements and thereby preserve low-income housing...

Senate Passes FY20 Spending Package with Increases for Affordable Housing

November 22, 2019

By a vote of 84-9, the Senate recently approved its fiscal year 2020 (FY20) HUD appropriations bill. The House passed its HUD FY20 appropriations bill in June. And now, with the passage of the Senate bill, the two bills must be reconciled before a final spending bill to ensure continued funding...

HUD Announces $1.5M Settlement with Bridgeport Housing

November 22, 2019

HUD recently announced that the Department of Justice negotiated a settlement with the Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport (HACB) settling allegations that HACB discriminated against persons with disabilities by failing to provide accessible units and ignoring their requests for...

HUD Awards $1.5M to PHAs for Young People Aging Out of Foster Care

November 22, 2019

HUD recently awarded $1.5 million to nearly a dozen housing authorities to assist young people aging out of foster care and who are at risk of experiencing homelessness. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) estimates that more than 20,000 young people age out of foster care...

Dealing with Proof of Identity and Second Last Names

November 20, 2019

Q Some of our applicants, especially those from Puerto Rico, have a second last name on their birth certificate that isn’t on their Social Security card. How should this scenario be...

Owner May Be Liable for Breach of Contract

October 29, 2019

Facts: A former Section 8 resident sued the local PHA and an owner for alleged housing discrimination and breach of contract. The resident claimed that after making written promises to transfer the resident to a new unit free of dangerous inhalants, the owner refused to deliver...

PHA Can Terminate Benefits for False Statements

October 29, 2019

Facts: A resident was terminated from the Section 8 program after the PHA investigated her marital status. The resulting report concluded that she was married and didn’t provide true and correct information about her...

HUD Launches Webpages on the Preservation of Multifamily Housing

October 29, 2019

HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing Programs (MFHP) recently announced the launch of three webpages to support multifamily owners with the operation and preservation of their sites. The goal of these new resources is to provide stakeholders with current and accessible information and the...